(Note: If you do not have a consistent setting in your game, this month's column will not help you in any way, shape or form. Don't read it. It will not help your campaign. There's nothing to learn here. Move along.)

A common Game Master trap lies in designing setting. Many GMs think they have to spend hours, weeks, months getting to know every cobblestone, every brick, every face in the crowd. Well, I'm here to tell you that's a load of horse hockey. This month, I'm letting you in on some nifty little tricks that will make your environment come alive for your players in ways they (and you) never thought possible.

I can already hear you saying, "Hey, isn't this supposed to be a column about dirty, underhanded Game Master tricks? How is designing an environment low-down and nasty?"